Birthdate: February 18, 1954Birthplace: Englewood, New JerseyOccupations: Actor, MusicianQuote: "There's hardly anything I wouldn't do for Quentin [Tarantino]. But I know...he already feels paid back by my doing a good job. I know Quentin doesn't feel I owe him anything...I don't think there's ever been anyone who's genuinely loved me more than Quentin. He doesn't want anything back other than my well-being, and every time I think about the purity of that, it makes me want to cry or something...and Steven Spielberg--he's the one who called me and told me to do the Nora Ephron movie [Michael]. So with Quentin Tarantino and Steven Spielberg, I think I have the best guardian angels that the planet has to offer." --US magazine, December 1995

Significant Other(s):
Wife: Kelly Preston, actress; born October 13, 1962; engaged January 1, 1991; married September 5, 1991, in Paris, France by a French Scientologist minister; remarried September 12, 1991 in Daytona Beach, Florida (marriage in France wasn't legal)
Diana Hyland, actress; born Januray 25, 1936; played Travolta's mother in The Boy in the Plastic Bubble; died March 28, 1977 of cancer

Biography
Bright-eyed and boyish, John Travolta first gained fame as Vinnie Barbarino, head "Sweathog" on the popular high school sitcom "Welcome Back, Kotter" (ABC, 1975-79). The character began as a dim-witted, swaggering bully but soon evolved into sweet-natured, vulnerable and sexy teen idol. He first registered in features as a teen cad who plots against "Carrie" (1976) and truly graduated from TV "hustling" his way to stardom in one of the signature films of the late 70s, "Saturday Night Fever" (1977). Travolta's convincing urban Italian-American posturing, combined with a bruised sensitivity and several fiery disco routines helped make the film a resonant hit and earned him an Oscar nomination. 5After the critical and commercial fiasco of "Moment By Moment" (1978), a laughable romantic drama co-starring Lily Tomlin, Travolta cemented his popularity and proved himself a capable light romantic lead as Danny Zuko in "Grease" (1978). Buoyed by the immense popularity of TV's "Happy Days", this faux 1950s song-and-dance fest became one of Hollywood's highest grossing film musicals. The well-received "Urban Cowboy" (1980) featured the dancing lead in cowboy hat and boots as it tapped into America's ascendant interest in country-and-western culture. De Palma's "Blow Out" (1981) offered Travolta one of his most complex roles: a dedicated film sound recordist who accidentally records a political assassination. The result was a richly shaded portrait of the hack artist as fallen idealist.

Travolta subsequently languished for nearly a decade in forgettable and/or unpopular films. It took the sleeper hit of 1989, "Look Who's Talking" to re-establish him, although he was more of a supporting player in this romantic comedy. Nevertheless, its success generated at least two more jobs for the former superstar--"Look Who's Talking Too" (1990) and "Look Who's Talking Now" (1993).

Glowing reviews for his performance in Quentin Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction" (1994), though, restored Travolta to Hollywood's A-list. Now relatively heavy-set, sporting long-hair and earrings, Travolta's Vincent Vega was a strangely sympathetic hitman with a heroin habit and a disconcertingly innocent view of the world. The resuscitated star found himself deluged with scripts and deals offering him the biggest paydays of his estimable career as well as a second Oscar nomination for Best Actor.

Since then, the actor has worked virtually non-stop, capitalizing on his success with several well-received characterizations. As Chili Palmer in Barry Sonnenfeld's popular "Get Shorty" (1995), he was acclaimed for his portrayal of a hitman entranced by Hollywood. John Woo's action-adventure thriller "Broken Arrow" (1996) offered him a rather malevolent turn as the mastermind of an extortion plot against the US government while "Phenomenon" (also 1996) let him show his softer side as a man who is struck by a white light and develops superior abilities. He rounded out the same year portraying a fallen angel in Nora Ephron's "Michael". In 1997, he reteamed with Woo for "Face/Off", exchanging identities and features with Nicolas Cage, was the supportive husband of a woman whose past catches up to her in "She's So Lovely" and was a desperate man driven to hostage-taking in "Mad City".